Business View Magazine | May 2019

153 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE MAY 2019 producers in the world. Indeed, the ingredient which is central to rum – sugarcane – had been cultivated in their home state since the 1700s, but no one had yet harnessed this abundant natural resource to create a top-notch, U.S. premium rum. So, in 2011, the trio decided to start their own distillery, and two years later, they opened Louisiana Spirits in Lacassine, LA, right on the edge of sugarcane country. “We use 100 percent natural, unrefined, Louisiana molasses, from a local, family-owned sugar mill in Louisiana called M.A. Patout & Son. They’ve been making sugar here since 1825. What we get from them is blackstrap molasses, and between the molasses and yeast strains we use, we knew we could make something pretty exceptional.” Today, the distillery’s Bayou Rum family consists of seven “expressions”– Bayou White and Bayou Spiced are in the unaged category. The premium aged category includes Bayou Reserve, Bayou Mardi Gras XO and Bayou Single Barrel. Louisiana LOUI S I ANA SP I R I TS Spirits also launched a new liqueur brand known as Gator Bite. This portfolio currently contains the popular Gator Bite Satsuma Liqueur and the new Gator Bite Coffee Liqueur. Combined, all expressions have been recognized more than 100 times in tasting competitions, worldwide. Jeff Murphy, Bayou Rum’s Operations Manager and Master Distiller, who had joined the company in 2012 after years of experience as a distiller and craft brewer, was soon accompanied in 2013 by Master Blender Reiniel Vicente, a second generation Rum Blender, just as full production commenced. “I make great rums and Reiniel makes them better,” Murphy quips. “Reiniel is in charge of the finer points of the blending and aging process as well as quality control. Between the two of us, we taste every batch to see if it meets the high standards we hold ourselves to.” “Fast forward to the end of 2015,” Murphy continues. “We were approached by Stoli Group USA, and they were interested in our brand.” Stoli